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That's the thing for me, though. All it would be is a display piece for me. The inside part of the castle would probably never get messed with or even be displayed to be able to see it. So, I could care less what they add to the interior. What would be displayed, however, is the front of the castle with He-Man standing in front of the castle door that is almost the same height as him. It's like he's knocking on the front door of your own home. I don't think anybody wants anything massive, but what people are clamoring for is for an entrance door that the He-Man figure would have to glance up a bit to see the top of the door. It's a castle......They are meant to be enormous.

With the front being my reason for display, the small door is the difference between $300 and $0 for Mattel. I'm sorry, if it's not done right for the money that I'm spending, then I don't want it at all. I've shown non-collectors the pictures and they all thought the entrance should be bigger, and that was without me giving them any of my input, beforehand.

In the latest video, the door is measured to be 7-8". The MOTUC figures are built to a 6" scale, no? How much more room are you looking for? 10" 12" 36"? Anything more than what we're getting is unrealistic for a small-run $300 castle like what we're getting.

Given how many questions fans asked, Scott Neitlich went ahead and answered all the questions submitted rather than record a video where only three would be addressed. Below are his answers to fan questions about the MOTUC Castle Grayskull.

The questions are listed from most-asked to least-asked. I (JVS3) did my best to make sure the questions conveyed what most everyone was asking. If I didn't ask exactly what you wanted to know, please accept my apology for that as that's my fault and not Scott's. I may have missed a question here or there as well as it took me three hours to compile everything asked. Please accept my apology for that as well.

Here are the questions and answers, with an intro from Scott:

Hey everyone! I know their have been a ton of questions about the Castle and Val and the Mods were nice enough to gather together the most pressing questions. Please keep in mind that everything about the Castle is in flux right now as development continues. No one has really tired anything this ambitious before (selling in a 250.00 playset with a B-sheet!) so we do ask that you bare with us as development continues. There are and will continue to be changes from the original B-sheet as we move into sculpt (as seen at NYTF) and final toy (which we hope to show at SDCC).

If in any way you are unhappy with the product as it develops you may cancel your order through Aug 30th. But keep in mind if you cancel you can’t get back in and it is likely we will not do a day of sale for the Castle (or if we do it will be super limited and maybe only customer service stock sold off if not needed). Hope these answers clarify and feel free to ask more over on the Mattycollector.com “ask Matty” forums!

Best,
Scott

1. Will the jawbridge hinge be lowered further and/or the entrance way increased in height to allow for a longer jawbridge and more clearance for figures (or even better, clearance for He-Man on Battle Cat)?

We are actually looking into this. At this point it is too early to confirm anything but Mattel design and the Four Horsemen are exploring ways of getting the Jaw Bridge to lower into the base a bit more to allow for more clearance. We are actively looking into this to see if it is possible.

2. Can the Windraider socket be moved to the top somehow and/or the lower base be removed and something else be done in its place, such as the addition of other highly requested features or items (like the 3D dungeon) not currently offered with Grayskull?

The WR socket was always planned and announced as being inside of the Castle. The idea of "replacing it" does not really work. The socket is a hole in the floor of the castle for the existing stand included with the released WR toy. Replacing this "socket hole" with a newly sculpted item with lots of deco (like the dungeon you suggest) is not a 1:1 cost ratio. A new item with deco is way more expensive vs. including a socket in the floor. But if you don't want to use the Windraider socket or even the entire floor section you do not have to. This optional floor section with the WR socket plug is an accessory for the Castle and not needed to hold the playset together the way the walls do. If you don't care for this feature you do not need to display it. It is optional.

3. Will the inside walls of Grayskull be sculpted to add detail and features rather than being smooth as we saw in the prototype?

The interior walls will be the inverse sculpt of the exterior walls. They were smooth at Toy Fair in the Four Horsemen sculpt. But was noted at the show as being a temp item to hold the prototype together. The final plastic castle will have one sculpted wall for the outside and inside.

4. Will the throne be adjusted to allow for the Sorceress and/or a caped figure to sit in?

Yes, we are exploring adding a slit in the back of the throne for the Sorceress's tail feather to slide into letting her sit properly.

5. Will you adjust the trapdoor so it drops directly onto the dungeon or into the prison?

No, there will not be changes to the trapdoor position.

6. Will you go back and make Grayskull larger like in the foam mockup? And if not, why was it scaled down in size?

No. This is the largest we can make the Castle at the current price point. The foam model and the sell in sheet was noted as a work in progress and all dimensions given were noted as estimates that would likely change. And they did slightly.

7. Can head clearance inside the castle be improved for the figures placed inside on the different floors?

No, we won't be able to adjust the spacing of the floors, but there is more than enough space for MOTUC figures on each section.

8. Will the missing accessories from the original playset and other items like the 3D dungeon and Mark Taylor concept accessories be offered separately in the future if we cannot get the with this Grayskull playset?

We don't have plans for any additional accessories to the actual Castle (in fact there is a good chance some of the items shown at NYTF may need to be cut before the final product is shown at SDCC as costs continue to come in). It is always possible we could look into an add on "furniture" or "accessory" pack for the Castle one day, but nothing is planned right now.

9. Will there be pegs on the ledges to keep the figures from falling, or will you make the ledges wider so pegs aren't needed?

No. We won't be adding pegs to the ledge. There is more than enough space for two MOTUC figures to fit. Eric confirmed this on Roast Gooble dinner last week. (note from JVS3: I hope to have the episode up this coming weekend)

10. Will a cap be provided to cover the Wind Raider stand socket when it's not used, plus can something done with texture and sculpting to help make the floor look better?

No, we won't be adding a cap to the WR socket. It is an option piece and you can choose to not display it with your Castle if you do not care for it.

11. Is Grayskull designed for the potential future additions like Point Dread, castle playset extensions and/or dioramas?

Yes, the Horsemen did sculpt it with this in mind, but no plans right now for any additional items like you describe.

12. Will the spacesuit armor ever be offered as an articulated figure, or a snap-on piece that will cover an existing figure?

It is always possible but we don't have any plans right now for this.

13. Will fans be polled for what features, accessories and items they'd prefer on Grayskull?

No. The only poll we are running is for preorder customers to choose which 10 figures will be on the box art.

14. Can we get more features or additions (like a portal) that are nods to Filmation Grayskull?

No, we won't be adding any additional accessories and there is a very good chance that some of the accessories shown at NYTF may not make it to the final product as costs continue to come in. We'll have the final toy to show at SDCC.

15. Will you change the prison's size and bars so you can fit more inside and so you can see more of the figure through the bars?

No, we won't be able to make this change.

16. Will all the materials used, especially on joints and hinges, be stable and of the highest quality to insure durability, with the possibility of replacement parts and a lengthier warrantee?

We are using the best material we can!

17. Will Scareglow's key work on Grayskull?

Yes, there will be a slot added to the back door that will fit his key.

18. Will the hinge allow for the two halves to be taken apart after the initial assembly?

Assembly is not final at this time so we don't have a final answer to this.

19. Will a book, comic or unannounced accessory come with Grayskull?

No.

20. Will this Grayskull ever be used for another incarnation of MOTU, such as 3 and Ύ figures?

There are no plans to re-release the Castle beyond the current sale.

21. Will the two halves open up completely so they are perfectly side-by-side and will sit flush against a flat surface?

Assembly is not final at this time so we don't have a final answer to this.

22. Will you make the left parapet taller?

No, we won't be able to make this change.

23. Will the walls of the castle remain thick?

No, the sculpt at NYTF had much thicker walls to hold the prototype together. In the final plastic product the walls will be the inverse of the exterior sculpt detail.

24. Will any of the interior show when Grayskull is closed (like the top of the elevator rails) and if so, can it be fixed to conceal anything inside when closed?

It will be very similar to the vintage Castle. You will likely see some section of the elevator but we are not far enough along to make a definitive call.

25. Can the green on the castle be made darker?

Deco is not final but it is pretty close. We'll pass this along but likely we are past the point of making this change.

26. Will extensive testing be done to make sure paint will adhere and not easily scrape off Grayskull?

All of our products have this.

27. Will the sword keyhole be disguised in any way to make it less visible when not used?

It will look like a vertical crack in the front stone by the Jaw Bridge.

28. Are the shields, sword holder and tapestries removable?

The swords and shields can be removed, but the wall mounted holder is one time assembly. You can interchange which swords and shields are on the wall to your heart’s content.

29. Can the flags be made out of a sturdy fabric?

The flags are made of plastic.

30. If any paint aps are cut, will stickers be included to make up for any lost paint?

That would be one option, but we are pretty set on the paint ops at this point!

31. Will there be a lock on the orb chamber that you can open with the Sword of Power or Sword of Protection?

No.

32. Will the laser canon swivel left to right as well as up and down?

It moves up and down on the stand, but it is also not in a fixed spot so you can move it wherever you want.

33. Will you add a plug-in to attach Castle Grayskullman in some way?

You can put him anywhere you want, but there is no attachment for him.

34. Will the elevator have more paint aps?

No, we are not adding additional paint aps. But it has a lot.

35. Will you make a set of thrones to sell separately to use with the King and Queen?

It is always possible but we don't have any plans right now for this.

36. Do Castle Grayskullman's swords fit into the sword wall mount?

The wall mounted sword holder will fit most MOTUC swords/weapons.

37. Will the flags turn on the poll, or will the poll be able to rotate to show different sides of the flag?

The flag is fixed and made of plastic. The poll is a self standing element that can be moved or positioned anyway you want on the top, inside, next to the ground or even in your refrigerator if that if your thing.

38. Will it come with an Orb for the Orb Room?

No. The orb came with King Grayskull in late 2011.

39. Will we get He-Ro's grave?

No, we won't be including a grave stone accessory. Only what was shown at NYTF and possibly not even all of those items as costs continue to come in. A final toy will be shown at SDCC.

Glad to hear about the throne and jawbridge. If design can fix these two (somewhat easily fixable) things, then the castle will be nearly perfect to me. Also happy to hear about the interior walls looking similar to the exterior.

Thanks for answering the questions but the removal of more accessories is complete trash. I don't want an empty castle. And why so hesitant to confirm add on sets then if it's all Being cut. At least try to make me not want to cancel my order.

Last edited by evenflow; February 26, 2013 at 10:47pm.

Quote the Raven, Nevermore.
It can't rain all the time.

"Live the journey, for every destination is but a doorway to another."

Thank you Val for the detailed questionnaire... Sooo, as I expected, not many changes will be done other than the size of the Jaw-Bridge, the inverse of the walls and the added slits in the throne. Oh yeah, more accessories might be taken away, yaaay.

Personally, I doubt any other accessories will be cut. I think Scott is lowering our expectations, so that when SDCC comes and the announcement that EVERYTHING made it, the masses will rejoice and not cancel their castles.

I'm glad that they are looking into making the entrance way bigger. Ugh on the negative walls...just like we remember.

Originally Posted by evenflow

Thanks for a sweeting the questions but the removal of more accessories is complete trash. I don't want an empty castle. And why so hesitant to confirm add on sets then if it's all Being cut. At least try to make me not want to cancel my order.

I think removing items for future inclusion or improving upon them (like an articulated spacesuit) will provide Mattel with an opportunity to sell more Grayskull items in the future. We could be seeing Grayskull Packs announced at SDCC 2013 or NYTF 2014.

Very strongly disappointed with most of the answers. We're getting shafted with the size reduction and as a result there are head clearance issues all around the castle (the upper left floor and the dungeon door being flagrant cases), but it seems they will only address the problem with the jawbrigde (if at all) and leave everything else unchanged. Moreover, the interior being the negative of the exterior instead of its own sculpt will make the castle look incredibly cheap for a $250+ item. And they will probably cut yet more accessories and deco; but, as expected, stubbornly refuse to scrap the stupid WR plug (and all that it entails).

I'll wait till SDCC, but I'm almost certain I will cancel most or all of my 3 preorders.

Also, these were announced as questions for Mattel Design, not for Toyguru. I wanted to hear the voice of those directly working with the castle, not the voice of the marketing manager.

Not happy about the interior walls. I'll wait until SDCC to see what the final looks like, but I'm doubtful on keeping my order.

Same here. The only good answer is trying to fix the jaw bridge, but even that answer is questionable. I said that I really don't care much about the inside, but it sounds like the inside will get cheapened too, and possibly more accessories getting cut. The more I hear, the worse it gets for the price. I will hold out until SDCC for the final verdict, but it really looks like I'm going to cancel.

I guess I'll be using all those Grayskull stands to improve my castle... I'm happy to hear they are looking into the drawbridge issue.
Bummer about the floors, but not a deal-breaker for me... Everything else IMO is near perfect!

Yeah, I don't get why people get hung up on that. It has nearly no tooling and zero paint apps. It's just a little plastic pie piece with a hole in it.

I appreciate Scott's honest answers. It is disappointing to hear that some things may yet be cut. If they start cutting, I hope they start with the bat flight pack. That thing doesn't make a lick of sense to me. But let's not dip into that kind of thing right now...

Thanks for a sweeting the questions but the removal of more accessories is complete trash. I don't want an empty castle. And why so hesitant to confirm add on sets then if it's all Being cut. At least try to make me not want to cancel my order.

Because the production costs are rising and they're still a long way for production to begin, so theres plenty of time for cost increase to happen. Ill be happy for just the original accesories, except the weapons rack came out already and didnt get it

So it is possible that nothing will be improved upon but we should expect some features to be taken away.

Awesome work, Scott!

The negative walls are very disappointing. How could they not budget for some sculpted walls on the inside? The walls don't need to be made of solid plastic; I assume they would be hollow on the inside.

And just because the wind raider stand cannot be exchanged for the sculpted pit piece doesn't mean it shouldn't be scrapped in exchange for SOMETHING - anything! Even a single paint deco! From what I have read the stand has been greeted with near-universal distaste, so why waste the production dollars on something that noone will use?

Scott has always insisted that they would only produce Castle Grayskull if they could do it right. This is so far from doing it right.

Instead of producing the ultimate Castle Grayskull that we were promised we are getting a remake of the original Castle with a handful of minor sculpting improvements.

As per most things MOTUC, the announcements and reveals are always full of excitement, but that slowly turns to disappointment as a product rolls its way through design, production and shipping.

I will keep my single preorder, but I'm none too pleased with what we're getting.

I'm glad that they are looking into making the entrance way bigger. Ugh on the negative walls...just like we remember.

I think removing items for future inclusion or improving upon them (like an articulated spacesuit) will provide Mattel with an opportunity to sell more Grayskull items in the future. We could be seeing Grayskull Packs announced at SDCC 2013 or NYTF 2014.

Well as long as they do it before the end of the cancellation date. I just think that promising add on sets will help me at least not cancel.

Quote the Raven, Nevermore.
It can't rain all the time.

"Live the journey, for every destination is but a doorway to another."

So it is possible that nothing will be improved upon but we should expect some features to be taken away.

Awesome work, Scott!

The negative walls are very disappointing. How could they not budget for some sculpted walls on the inside? The walls don't need to be made of solid plastic; I assume they would be hollow on the inside.

And just because the wind raider stand cannot be exchanged for the sculpted pit piece doesn't mean it shouldn't be scrapped in exchange for SOMETHING - anything! Even a single paint deco! From what I have read the stand has been greeted with near-universal distaste, so why waste the production dollars on something that noone will use?

Scott has always insisted that they would only produce Castle Grayskull if they could do it right. This is so far from doing it right.

Instead of producing the ultimate Castle Grayskull that we were promised we are getting a remake of the original Castle with a handful of minor sculpting improvements.

As per most things MOTUC, the announcements and reveals are always full of excitement, but that slowly turns to disappointment as a product rolls its way through design, production and shipping.

I will keep my single preorder, but I'm none too pleased with what we're getting.

At least you can wait until the final product is shown at SDCC and then cancel if you still aren't satisfied.

I'm pretty satisfied with what I've seen so far, but if it's not up to my standards come SDCC then I'll most likely cancel. At least Mattel is giving us this safety net to see the final product before we pay for it.

Because the production costs are rising and they're still a long way for production to begin, so theres plenty of time for cost increase to happen. Ill be happy for just the original accesories, except the weapons rack came out already and didnt get it

^^^^ this.....
How much did the weapon rack cost originally
so I know the full gouge of ebay?

Gotta say, Toyguru, make it as close as possible to whats been
shown or in the immortal words of Aesop's Fables:

At least they're taking the jaw bridge issue seriously and looking at ways to fix it. That seems to be the biggest issue besides the overall height, and my biggest beef with the prototype. I think the trapdoor/dungeon cell alignment problem is ludicrous. How can they stick by this stupid design choice is beyond me. I won't bother putting the dungeon walls up because of it. I'll just stick the manacles on the wall. The answer about the interior walls doesn't bother me. I'd rather have inverse walls than the smooth walls of the prototype. I just hope they won't be one solid color.